Hi all , my names Ryan I’m 40 and a father of 3 boys ages 18/6/1 and husband to my wife Gemma

didnt really have much thinking time before my op as I was in for consultation and into surgery within 2 weeks , I had thought about it for years as I was very unhappy with my weight and appearance , I’m a construction worker and more recently I’ve stepped in to management of the family business , I’ve always been a big lad , 16 stone whilst at school and slowly over the last 24 years I’ve crept to 23.5 stone , after having hip surgery in March my suregeon suggested I needed a dramatic weight loss to help my hip , so I took the plunge and now it’s feels a down ward spiral into pain and unhappy moods , my wife and children are here around me , and it’s great , but I’m very short tempered and I’m letting my stress out on them, without Meaning to .

Ive not managed to eat much , and I’ve a constant pain in my left side , almost like a stitch that you would get from eating then exercising to quick after ,

im sick of slim fast shakes and the soups after 2 days , I’ve managed to eat very soft scrabble egg x1 egg , and today even managed some baked beans well chewed . I’m taking my vitamins and sipping water throughout the day , which is also a painful experience , I feel every drop go down and gives me small sharp stabbing pains . Can anyone relate to how I’m feeling , as I don’t really want to ring the hospital if it’s all natural after the procedure . [ gastric bypass]

I had a stitch type pain early post-op and one thing my surgeon recommended was to massage the area (pressing quite deeply) in a circular motion. A little bit of oil on my fingertips helped but you have to do it pretty regularly. And walking can help too - along with some gentle stretching with your arms above your head - particularly side-to-side motions.

On the water thing ... to this day, I still have a problem drinking plain water. Strange because other than tea, water was pretty much all I drank pre-op. Now, I drink nothing colder than room temperature and it has to have some flavouring - I like Crystal Light but I don't know how widely available that is in the UK but I hear that Stur® is pretty good.

Hello, @Ryanm1978 and welcome! I would assume part of the problem you’re having right now is that your head hasn’t caught up with your body. Most of us here have had at least 6 months before initiating the surgery process and the surgery itself so by the time we have gotten to it, we are ready for it. We have read about it, posted about it and prepped for it. That isn’t to say that you can’t do this (obviously you already have! Ha!) but it might take a little time to adjust mentally. So you have to go easy on yourself as you’ve just had major surgery (despite the tiny incisions on the outside, there are very big ones inside!) and your body has to learn to adjust to its new way of digesting now as well as your head has to adjust to its new way of eating now. It will come in time. During the post op time, you are sore (they did cut through your abdominal muscles and they will always hurt while healing) but it will improve day by day and I bet by Christmas Day you will realize your pain is gone!

As for the eating, I don’t know what your dr recommended but my first two weeks was nothing but liquid (liquid protein shakes, water and broth as well as sugar free jello and popsicles) which was pretty easy on my tummy/staple line. I also had 2 wks of liquid pre-op to shrink my liver so i had gone 4 wks w/ no solids and honestly my body had gotten used to it. I assume since yours went so quickly, you didn’t have any pre-op liquid diet yourself. Most ppl here said (and I agreed once I lived through it) that at day 4 you feel better. Those first few days of liquid only caused a lot of headaches and cravings and basically a carbohydrate withdrawal but but day 4 they all eased up and it got easier (and the scale going down every day helped immensely!). So my point it, your body will adjust to the liquid diet and it won’t be so bad. I would avoid things like beans and eggs so early out....it is tough on your internal invidions and you really want those suture or staple lines to heal up correctly. Lots of us experienced a change of tastes after surgery. Fortunately they were mostly short lived. I drank iced tea with lots of ice or hot tea all day every day. After surgery i couldn’t stand the taste of it at all. After about 4 months i got the courage to try it again and I’m back to loving it and drinking it all day. So your tastes may change and then change back

.i suggest you read up on other people’s experiences so you know a little of what to expect, understand what you’re going through and learn what is good to eat while you’re healing and adjusting. This forum is a great place to start. Get involved and the more you put into it the more you will get out of it.

PS water wasn’t painful to me but i remember it taking forever to get down. I had to get 1 oz down every 15 mins at the hospital (4 oz an hour but not all at once) and it was so difficult. I don’t remember it hurting but i was hurting all over and it was annoying to have to do anything!

Thank you for the words of wisdom , yes I had a 2 week pre op diet , slim fast and yogurt , managed to lose 12kg

i did have 3 days doing the Same after the op , but started to feel sick with it , hence moved to some egg and the beans today , il give the shakes another go tomorrow and see how I feel , wife has made me home made soups hi in protein and mostly veg or chicken based , all blended to a liquid ,so will give them a go tomorrow .

Pain wise , spoken to the hospital now , and they think it’s trapped wind/gas from the op causing me pain , not had much of a bowl movement to get rid of anything for 5 days ...

thnak you and I hope everyone here is getting the life they want/deserve

The gas pain thing is very real and very common. My surgeon told me to expect that as I guess they use air in your gut during the surgery. It probably doesn't have anything to do with a bowel movement, it has to do with the extra air they blew into you during the surgery. I think they do ti to either check your pouch for leaks or to help do the surgery laproscopically. That was the biggest post-op pain I felt. My surgeon's solution was to walk, walk, walk. Starting in the hospital, and then often each day. Not far, but often throughout the day. Every hour or so. It felt good to walk outside a little after i got home, even if it was just down to the mailbox, then 1/2 block, etc. It's also rewarding, because as the walking helps "relieve" the gas, the pain subsides more and more.

I'm with @CheeringCJ about the solid, or even thick liquid foods at this point. Please consult your doctor if you decide to do anything different than his/her instructions. If you're not tolerating the shakes well, they may be able to recommend something else. I know GNC carries a more clear liquid protein drink if the milky thing is bothering you. Bone broth is also good, like your wife made, just make sure it is clear and not thick. Sugar free jello or popsicles might be a nice change. It's really important to care for your new little pouch. It's all swollen, stapled, and trying to heal, so care for it like a newborn!

Most of all, you're doing great! Keep your chin up! You have done a wonderful thing for your future, and things will only get better from here. We are all here for you!

@Cindy Lou Who. They blow your abdomen up with CO2 to give them room to move about with their instruments. In surgery leak tests are done using blue saline solution. That doesn't cause any pain or discomfort, you just pee flouro green urine until it's all out. I still recall the first nurse that checked my urine output when racing off all worried because she had read my notes so didn't know about my intra-operative leak test. So happy I didn't have to do a barium swallow.

@Cindy Lou Who. They blow your abdomen up with CO2 to give them room to move about with their instruments. In surgery leak tests are done using blue saline solution. That doesn't cause any pain or discomfort, you just pee flouro green urine until it's all out. I still recall the first nurse that checked my urine output when racing off all worried because she had read my notes so didn't know about my intra-operative leak test. So happy I didn't have to do a barium swallow.

Oh that's right, thanks for the correction. I remembered that the gas was not digestive related, but couldn't remember why they introduced it in surgery. The gas pain from the lapriscopic instruments is WAY better than being totally cut open! I'll take a few days of gas any day over the pain and scarring of the old methods of surgery.

I did have to do a barium swallow test the morning after surgery. Maybe that was because I also had a hiatal hernia repair. They warned me it wouldn't be fun. The test didn't hurt, but it did make me nauseous and I threw it up. But I was nauseous already coming out of anesthesia. It was fine and I'm glad they warned me about it.

Oh that's right, thanks for the correction. I remembered that the gas was not digestive related, but couldn't remember why they introduced it in surgery. The gas pain from the lapriscopic instruments is WAY better than being totally cut open! I'll take a few days of gas any day over the pain and scarring of the old methods of surgery.

My original surgery pre-dated lapriscopic surgery so was open. It was horrendous thinking back to it. 3 nights in ICU and two weeks all up in hospital post surgery. Then another two weeks in a very uncomfortable corset bandage thingy!!! These days though they still use gas in open surgeries as it allows them to operate through smaller incisions. Boy did they ever use gas when I had an open hysterectomy...... the pain getting rid of that gas I found..... quite ironically given the surgery....akin to labour pains in childbirth.

My original WLS scarring is breastbone to navel, but way better now that I'm past goal than it was before.

My original surgery pre-dated lapriscopic surgery so was open. It was horrendous thinking back to it. 3 nights in ICU and two weeks all up in hospital post surgery. Then another two weeks in a very uncomfortable corset bandage thingy!!! These days though they still use gas in open surgeries as it allows them to operate through smaller incisions. Boy did they ever use gas when I had an open hysterectomy...... the pain getting rid of that gas I found..... quite ironically given the surgery....akin to labour pains in childbirth.

My original WLS scarring is breastbone to navel, but way better now that I'm past goal than it was before﻿.

EEEK! Amazing how much safer the surgeries are today! I officially take back my ever whining about the gas pains or barium swallow!

If you like milk, see if they carry FairLife milk where you live. WE have it in the states and it just tastes like milk but it is a high protein milk and that is great when you need a break from the sweet protein shakes but still need to have lots of protein while healing.